Container with raised tearing strip tongue



Aug. 11, 1953- c. F. PECK 7 2,648,459 CONTAINER WITH RAISED TEARINGSTRIP TONGUE Filed July 12, 1950 INVENTOR.

v 0122 f." P0 /6M if Jim M A. W

Patented Aug. 11,1953

CONTAINER WITH RAISED STRIP TONGUE TEARING Carl F. Peck, Jersey City, N.J assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey Application July 12, 1950, Serial No. 173,384

This invention relates to a container having a tearing strip which isremovable by a key or other instrumentality engageable with a projectingtongue on the strip for opening the container, and more specificallyrelates to an outwardly projecting bead or projection formed in thecontainer and disposed adjacent the tongue to keep the latter spacedfrom the container body wall, thereby preventing the bonding of thetongue to the container.

In the manufacture of containers having tearing strips defined by scorelines, the body is usually formed by joining overlapped or interfoldedmarginal body materia1 in a side seam. To make the structure hermetic orleakproof the side seam portions are bonded with solder or othersuitable adhesive substance. A tongue or tab is provided at the sideseam area of the scored section of the container to serve as a freestarting point for removing the tearing stri by means of a key or otherdevice. Frequently, the tongue is secured inadvertently to the body wallby the bonding material, thus making it diflicult to start the tearingaction.

An object of the invention is the provision of a tearing strip containerhavin an outward projection or bead in the end section of the tearingstrip or body wall located beneath the starting section of the strip ortongue so that the tongue is spaced away from the adjacent body wall anddoes not adhere to the body wall during the side seam bonding operation.

Another object is the provision of such a spacer bead or projectionbeneath the tongue of a tearing strip container which can be producedeco nomically and without interfering with the other blank and bodyforming operations.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the instantinvention and showing a transverse bead or outward projection thereonadjacent the tongue or tab of a scored tearing strip.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially along theline 2--2 in Fig. 1, and showing the bonded portion of the side seam andthe spacing of the tongue away from the body wall by the transversebead, and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig, 2 and showing 1 Claim. (Cl. 22054) 2the tongue inserted into a slot of an opening key.

Containers made from sheet metal may have overlapped or interfolded sideseams which are usually secured with solder or other suitable bondinmaterial. During the soldering operation the bodies pass against a rollwhich rotates in molten solder and deposits the fluid bonding metal ontothe side seam. The liquid solder flows into the seam by capillaryaction, after which the excess solder, while still in the fluid state,is wiped from the container. In this series of operations it is notpossible to restrict the solder flow to the side seam alone, and, as aresult, the can has a solder margin on each side of the seam. It isdifficult to wipe away any solder that may flow under the tongue. Thus,if the tongue presents a bare metal surface to the solder, and if it ispressure closed to the body wall, a bond is or may be formed whichsecures the tongue firmly against the body.

In containers which have side seams secured by material other thansolder such as adhesives of the plastic and resin type, such materialsare preferably deposited onto the seam portions before final assembly ofthe container, after which the seam is subjected to pressure to makecertain that the container parts containing the adhesive are in contactwith each other before the adhesive sets. It is extremely difficult toadjust both the pressure and amount of adhesive to prevent exuding ofadhesive past the side seams. This holds true for both metallic andnon-metallic containers. The adhesive that exudes past the side seam inthe tongue area often bonds the tongue to the body wall.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention, the drawing discloses asheet metal body or body member H having a side seam l2. At its upperportion the body I I is provided with a pair of parallel score lines l3,M defining or setting 01f a tearing strip l5 which preferably extendsentirely around the body and which merges into and is usually integralwith a tongue extension, tongue member, or tab l6. Tongue l6 extendsacross the side seam and overlaps the opposite end section of thetearing strip. Adjacent the tongue l6 and intermediate the ends thereof,preferably at a point outside of or beyond the solder margin, thecontainer body is provided a vertical bead or projection i7 projectingoutwardly from the body Wall and transversely of the tearing strip so asto function as a spacer between the tongue and the body wall, i. e.beneath the tongue. With the bead disposed beyond the solder margin thesolder will never reach the bead. The bead, however, engages andsupports the tongue in spaced relation to the body. The bead I1 extendsacross and slightly beyond each side of the tearing strip and ispreferably parallel with the side seam. A bead of shorter dimensions issatisfactory, but the longer bead provides or compensates for minordisplacements of the tongue tip by accidental bending, or the like.

For sheet metal containers the bonding material i8, Figs. 2 and 3, ispreferably solder. A space or gap [9 is provided between the unbeadedportion of the body wall and the tongue l6 when the tongue lies over andtouches bead ll. In round containers this space increases in dimensionswith an increase in distance from the side seam. However, regardless ofthe geometric configuration of the container, the space !9 is greatenough to arrest the capillary action of the bonding material, such asmolten solder. Thus, the tongue is always spaced away from the body walland is free to be drawn away from the bead l1 to provide a startingpoint to which an open ing device, such as a slotted key 25 (Fig. 3),may be attached.

The container may have a circumferential bead 20 disposed below thetearing strip for holding an inside collar (not shown), the structure ofwhich is well known in the art. Top and bottom ends 2|, 22,respectively, are secured to the body in end seams 23, 24. Said openingkey 25 having a slot 26 into which the tearing strip tongue is isinserted to remove the scored tearing strip from the body, is preferablysecured to one of the aforesaid container ends by solder, adhesive, orby means of a weld indicated at 21 in Fig. 1.

It is thought that the invention and many its attendant advantages willbe understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparentthat various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

A container comprising a tubular body member provided with a bonded sideseam, said body member having score lines setting off a tearing stripstarting at said side seam, a tongue member constituting an integralextension of said tearing strip and projecting from said side seam for alength sufficient to pass through and wind around the slot of aconventional opening key, said tongue member for substantially itsentire length overlapping and being spaced away from said body member,and an integral bead in said body member projectin between said membersand located adjacent the free end of said tongue member. said bead beingperipherally spaced away from said side seam a distance suflicient tosupport said tongue member in radially spaced relation to said bodymember so as to provide a non-bonded clearance space between the sideseam and said bead and also between said bead and the outer terminal endof the tongue member, thereby freeing said tongue end for engagementwith said key and preventing the free end of the tongue member frombeing bonded to said body member.

CARL F. PECK.

Name Date Pearson Nov. 28, 1939 Number

